"Once a Criminal…"? Recidivism and Punishment in the 21st Century

Monday, November 18 4:30 p.m. 1 CLE Credit Parking is available on site.

Nancy J. King Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Professor of Law Vanderbilt University

Courts and legislatures today routinely authorize punishment for repeat offenders that is far more severe than the punishment assigned those convicted for the first time. This reliance upon criminal history when setting sentences has a surprisingly fascinating history. It also has an uncertain future. Recent constitutional rulings may threaten established procedures for assessing sentences for prior offenders; researchers continue to question the relationship between criminal history and either culpability or future dangerousness; and commentators disagree whether using criminal history to calibrate punishment entrenches racial disparity in sentencing or, rather, helps to avoid it. Professor King will address these and related issues as she discusses the ongoing challenge of punishing recidivists in the 21st century.

Nancy J. King is the Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. She is an expert in criminal procedure, having authored or coauthored two leading treatises in the field, the leading casebook, and dozens of articles and book chapters. Her recent book, Habeas for the Twenty-First Century: Uses, Abuses, and the Future of the Great Writ (University of Chicago Press, 2011, with Joseph Hoffmann), offers important recommendations for habeas reform. In 2010, Professor King received Vanderbilt University's Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor Award, given each year to a single faculty member whose research has made distinctive contributions to the understanding of contemporary society.